Return of the Missing
by cmdeluxe
Summary: When a missing person shows up after being gone for months, it is up to the BAU to figure out what happened.
1. Chapter 1

Hi :) I'm hoping to get back into writing and this is a little teaser of what is to come, possibly. If you want to see more of this, just let me know in the reviews! No promises that I will be able to update regularly, but I will do my best.

**Intro**

JJ sat at her desk, going through possible case files. Although she had been promoted to Special Agent over three months ago, she still sorted through case files, flagged the ones that she thought needed outside help, and then gave them to Garcia. For whatever reason, she felt like she owed it to the people. To help in any way she could, however small.

Morgan walked in from the kitchenette, a steaming cup of coffee in his left hand and a case file in the other. JJ could guess which file he was carrying without even looking. It did not surprise any of them. Hell, even Hotch still glanced through the file from time to time.

He looked up, caught JJ's eyes looking at him and smiled softly. Still, after three months she knew he was torn over JJ's promotion. And desk, for that matter.

The morning was slow, a cold, winter Thursday that had not brought them a new case yet and they were thankful. Thankful to finally have a second to breathe, to catch their breath and relax. Relaxing was hard nowadays, though. Derek had said when he relaxes, his mind wanders to places he wish it didn't, but felt he deserved. She understood that, knew where he was coming from and why he felt that way.

JJ was typing up the report from their last case when she heard Derek's mug shatter on the floor. She flinched at the startling sound, and began rotating her chair towards him.

"Jeez, Derek. Wha-"

Her eyes followed his trance and widened. It was not possible, what she was seeing. They had spent months searching, months worrying, and months mourning. They nearly lost Derek in the aftermath.

In the doorway of the bullpen stood a bloodied, bruised brunette.

It was Emily.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the feedback on the first chapter! I appreciate every single review :) Also, I just wanted to let you know that this story will be set in late chapter 5ish if you were wondering. This story will get pretty dark, and this is your warning. I will post warnings before especially dark chapters, but I want you all to be aware. There will be mentions of sexual assault and some foul language._

_Here is the second chapter! Sorry it's short again - I'm hoping to make them longer soon. Also, updates will be slow the next few days/weeks. School and sorority events are very time consuming! Enjoy and don't forget to review!_

**T W O**

JJ stood slowly. It was early still, barely even eight o'clock and Hotch hadn't made it into work yet. Morgan, a few other agents, and herself were the only people in the bullpen.

"Emily," JJ heard Morgan say. She watched as her partner walked slowly towards Emily, whose eyes darted around the room quickly as she started backing up. "It's okay, you're safe now."

JJ watched Emily's hands reach for her waist, in what felt like slow motion, and her heart sunk. _Please no. _

"Morgan, she's got a gun!" She cried, as her hands hesitantly went for her own weapon. A glock that still felt unnatural on her hip.

At that point, the other agents noticed the commotion and had pulled out their own weapons. Most of them recognized the woman to be Prentiss, as her face had been plastered all over media outlets for weeks.

"Don't shoot!" Derek yelled, which only startled Emily and she looked around at the guns pointed at her. Her hands shook and her breaths were coming fast and heavy. "Emily," Derek says again, "put the gun down. You're safe."

Derek took another step towards her. She stepped back and screamed. "No!"

Derek had both hands up in front of him. "Okay, okay."

With at least five men surrounding her with guns pointed at her, JJ knew it was too much. She lowered her own and stepped towards her friend.

"Emily, it's JJ." She took smaller steps towards her. In an instant, it was as the dots connected in her brain and recognition flooded her brown eyes.

Tears pooled and the gun lowered, "JJ?"

"It's me, I'm right here. You're safe."

JJ watched as Emily's hands quickly released the gun, and her body shook. Seconds later, her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

"Call 911!" Morgan shouted as they both rushed to Emily's side. JJ dropped down next to her lifeless body, It was while on the ground that JJ realized how thin Emily had become, and the extent of her injuries. Her skin was pale, and clammy. Bruising covered majority of her body, and dried blood painted her chest and arms.

"What the hell happened to her?" Morgan mumbled to himself and JJ found herself having the same thought. _What the fuck?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Ah! Sorry for the delay! It's been a crazy few weeks, but I'm ready to get back to writing :) I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

JJ walked down the long hallway from the cafeteria to the waiting room, a cup of mediocre coffee in each hand. Morgan caught her eye from a distance as she got closer, his arms were crossed across his chest while he paced.

"Here," she held out one cup. He took a look at the cup, grabbed it, and took a small sip.

"Thanks."

She nodded. "Did you call Hotch?"

"Mm-hmm." He mumbled as he took another sip. JJ sipped on hers. "He's on his way. So is Reid, Rossi, and Penelope."

"Good." JJ said simply.

The two sat in silence, save for the scuffing of Morgan's shoes on the ground as he paced, for the next twenty minutes. Slowly, the rest of the team began filing into the waiting room, each wearing expressions of shock and concern. But, what JJ also noticed was how surprisingly calm everyone seemed for the first time since Emily's disappearance.

"Have you talked to a doctor?" Reid asked. "How is she?"

Morgan simply sighed and walked away, leaving JJ. "Uh, she's dehydrated and malnourished, the medics said that's probably why she passed out."

"How long?" Reid asked.

JJ thought for a moment. "She passed out at the BAU and I don't know when she regained consciousness."

Reid just nodded. He kept the less-than-good statistics to himself.

Hotch stood a few feet away from the team, making phone call after call. JJ assumed he would be contacting Emily's mother at the least, and most likely Strauss. She found herself thankful that she wasn't in charge at the moment.

"Emily Prentiss?"

The team perked up as an older woman announced Emily's name. She had her greying-brown hair pulled back into a low bun and held a clipboard at her waist.

"That's us." Hotch said as he hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket. "How is she?"

"Are you all family?"

"Yes." Hotch responded.

She nodded. "I'm Dr. Mary Jackson, why don't we go somewhere private."

Mary led the team to a private waiting room, where they all filed in and she felt their eyes burning into her, desperate for any information. She could sense the tightness of the group.

"Emily is okay," the room noticeably relaxed, "all things considered. Do any of you know the specifics of what happened to her?"

"She went missing four and a half months ago…" Hotch started.

"She left work and we never saw her again," Garcia said tearfully, "we looked for weeks…"

"The good news is," Mary cut in, "she doesn't have any major injuries. She's severely dehydrated and malnourished, but we can treat those with fluids and IV nutrition until she can handle solid foods. She has a lot of cuts and bruises, some of which we stitched and are being treated for infection, but she's doing okay otherwise. We have her on oxygen to help her breath better while she's unconscious, but I'm confident that she'll make a full recovery in a few weeks."

Morgan and Penelope hugged, Rossi put a hand on Reid's shoulder, and JJ covered her mouth. _Thank god._

"I can take one of you to sit with her. I want to make sure we don't overwhelm her when she wakes up. As I'm sure you're aware, but her mental state isn't as stable."

Morgan's mind flashed back to the gun pointed at himself by the hands of his old partner. She almost shot him.

"We'll assess more when she's conscious, but we did have to sedate her upon her coming in. She was extremely agitated and wary of my nurses." Mary said. "I hope you find the bastard that did this."

"JJ," Hotch turned to the blonde, "you go. We'll handle everything else."

JJ nodded and quickly followed Mary as she walked down the hall. Two minutes later, Mary stopped outside a room, put her hand on the handle, and paused.

"Are you ready?" She asked. JJ nodded.

She didn't really have much of a choice.

**Drop a review if ya want ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**F O U R**

**Here ya go :) Hope you enjoy this chapter… don't forget to let me know how you're liking/disliking it in the reviews. Constructive criticism is good!**

JJ sat in a wooden chair next to the hospital bed, her hand was resting on a half-read book, and her eyes stared at the officers outside of the room. Hotch had assigned two officers to stand outside of Emily's room, along with a hospital security guard. Every staff member had seen a picture of Emily, not that most of them didn't already know exactly who she was, and knew how important the situation was. They all, including the team, knew so little about what had happened.

JJ found herself playing with a string from the woven hospital blanket when a moan from the bed startled her.

"Emily?" JJ said quietly. Emily's eyes fluttered, then squeezed shut. "It's JJ, I'm right here." She gently grabbed her friends hand.

Emily's eyes flew open and she yanked her hand away from JJ's. She tried to push herself up on the bed, but her muscles wouldn't cooperate.

"Emily, it's okay. You're safe."

Emily's eyes told JJ she was beginning to calm down, to recognize her surroundings and the wide-eyed blonde in front of her. Her eyes met the piercing blue. "JJ?"

"It's me." JJ said with a soft smile, her heart still pounding from the little outburst. She'd never seen pure terror in the brunettes eyes until now, and it scared her.

JJ found herself stunned when Emily quickly moved and wrapped her arms around the blonde. She recovered and forcefully returned the hug. She rubbed small circles on her friends back as she sobbed softly.

"I never thought…" Emily started as she sat back into the bed and wiped at her eyes. "I never thought I'd see you again."

JJ smiled tearfully. "I'm so glad you're alive."

Emily's smile began to disappear and JJ's brows furrowed. _Did I say something wrong?_

"He's still out there…" JJ watched as that realization hit Emily like a truck. The anxiety and fear was written all over her face and body. Her hands trembled and her lip quivered. "He…he dropped me off…and he's gone."

"Em-" JJ stopped herself just before she grabbed Emily's hand. She settled for resting her hand on the edge of the bed. "You're safe here, Hotch put security guards outside your room, see?" She pointed to the door where the three officers were stationed.

Emily barely nodded as her eyes darted frantically around the room.

"What…" JJ paused. _Was this too soon?_ "What happened?"

Emily's eyes landed in her lap and her nails were taking a beating by her teeth. "How long?"

JJ sighed. "Four and a half months."

Emily nodded. She remained silent.

"Em?" JJ asked again, trying to meet her distanced eyes.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Emily laid back down, pulling the blanket over her shoulders and faced the opposite direction that JJ was sitting.

_Shit._

**Don't forget to drop a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING: Mentions of sexual assault**

**F I V E**

"We have footage of Em being dropped off outside," Garcia said as she hit play on the security footage. They watched as a black car, with tinted windows and no license plate of course, pull up outside the building. A door opened and Emily stepped out, the gun hanging in her left hand. She tucked it into her waistline and began walking into the building as the car sped off.

"The son of a bitch just _dropped _her off here," Morgan said, his fists tensing and rage bubbling.

They continued watching the tapes, moving from the outside camera to the inside view. The lobby was nearly empty, and Emily kept her head down as she flashed her badge. The jacket over her shoulders covered the blood on her shirt and chest - her abductor had clearly planned this out. They watched as she got into the elevator and used her ID to scan in. When she got off the elevator, the jacket was gone.

"That's the jacket we recovered from the elevator." Rossi said.

"He's confident we won't be able to find him until he wants us to find him. He's playing with us." Rossi said.

"Was anyone outside when the car pulled up" Hotch asked.

Morgan shook his head. "Nobody."

"I'll have Garcia check surrounding traffic light cameras, maybe one caught him."

"That'll take a while." Reid said quietly.

"It's all we can do at this point." Hotch said, defeated. "Morgan, you and I will go to the hospital and see what else Prentiss can give us. Rossi and Reid, stay here and go over the security footage from the night she disappeared. Maybe we missed something."

Reid nodded. They had gone over those tapes hundreds of times. He even watched them on his own time, desperate to find something they had missed. But, he'd do it again without a complaint.

…

"Do you remember anything else?" Hotch asked gently. Emily was hesitant to talk to them, she was scared. Rightfully so. It had just been surprising to see her so vulnerable, her walls were completely torn down.

"He sucked on menthol drops. He loves those things. I remember his breath on my face when…" Her face went blank and he watched as she distanced herself from her own mind.

"Em?" Derek said softly.

She blinked a few times before looking back at Hotch. "I don't remember anything else."

"Okay," Hotch closed the notepad he had brought and stuck the pen into his pocket. "JJ? A word?"

JJ stood up and rubbed Emily's hand before following the unit chief into the hallway. Morgan replaced her at Emily's bedside and she briefly heard him talking as she left.

"How'd the…" Hotch paused, and inhaled. "How'd the rape kit go?"

JJ shrugged. "She made it through. How long until we have anything?"

"A few days. It'll be processed and then we'll get the results."

JJ nodded, and Hotch watched the turmoil swirl in her eyes. "Hotch, we don't have anything. A thirty year old man with blonde hair and brown eyes is… vague at best."

"I have a sketch artist coming in, I'm hoping that'll help."

"Hopefully."

"Her mother will be here at the end of the week." Hotch said.

"That's… good I guess."

Before Hotch could respond, Dr. Jackson approached the pair.

"I'm glad I caught you." She said, a smile spreading across her face. "Emily's being discharged tomorrow. She's tolerating solid foods, she's rehydrated, and her infections are cleared. However, I do advise that she stays with someone for a while, she needs your support."

"Thanks, Doctor. We appreciate everything you've done, more than you know." Hotch thanked her. JJ hugged her quickly.

"We'll make sure she stays with someone." JJ said. "Thank you, again."

Mary smiled again and walked back to the nurses station.

JJ and Hotch went back into Emily's room, where Morgan was whispering softly to their friend and she was nodding.

"Dr. Jackson is discharging you tomorrow, Emily." Hotch said. "She suggest you stay with someone for a few weeks."

Emily nodded. "I don't want to burden any of you—"

"Nonsense." Morgan said as he gripped her hand tightly. "You are never a burden, Emily. You're more than welcome to stay at my place, if you'd like."

"That's very sweet of you, Morgan. I'd like that."

"Then it's settled." He said with a smile. "Emily Prentiss meets Derek Morgan's bachelor pad."

And, for the first time in nearly five months, they heard one thing they thought they would never hear again. Emily Prentiss laughed.

**_Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm hoping to have some extra time on my hands with the virus and everything that is going on in our crazy world. I hope you're all staying safe (and staying INSIDE!) and healthy! Don't forget to leave a review :)_**


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